Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in South Korea
South Korea: Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita was 66.9% in 2010. ▲ Rising
Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in South Korea, 1955–2010
Source: Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2010, share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in South Korea stood at 66.9%.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in South Korea peaked at 67.1% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 11.4%, in 1955.
That places South Korea 18th out of 44 countries with data for 2010, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 11.4% | — |
| 1963 | 26.5% | +132.5% |
| 1964 | 27.8% | +4.9% |
| 1965 | 29.0% | +4.3% |
| 1966 | 29.7% | +2.4% |
| 1967 | 29.9% | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 30.9% | +3.3% |
| 1969 | 31.7% | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 33.2% | +4.7% |
| 1971 | 34.8% | +4.8% |
| 1972 | 32.3% | -7.2% |
| 1973 | 31.1% | -3.7% |
| 1974 | 30.9% | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 31.4% | +1.6% |
| 1976 | 30.0% | -4.5% |
| 1977 | 31.6% | +5.3% |
| 1978 | 33.0% | +4.4% |
| 1979 | 35.0% | +6.1% |
| 1980 | 37.9% | +8.3% |
| 1981 | 38.9% | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 40.9% | +5.1% |
| 1983 | 41.9% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 43.0% | +2.6% |
| 1985 | 45.1% | +4.9% |
| 1986 | 45.3% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 44.8% | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 45.2% | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 46.2% | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 47.6% | +3.0% |
| 1991 | 48.6% | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 50.1% | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 52.5% | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 53.9% | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 55.1% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 56.5% | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 58.1% | +2.8% |
| 1998 | 60.3% | +3.8% |
| 1999 | 61.4% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 61.5% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 62.8% | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 63.6% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 63.9% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 64.7% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 65.5% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 66.3% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 67.1% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 67.1% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 67.1% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 66.9% | -0.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 66.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 72.1%, 93% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 66.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 60.6%, 1.1× the median. (9 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +132.5% | 11.4% | 26.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 11.4% | 11.4% | 11.4% | 1 |
| 1960s | 29.4% | 26.5% | 31.7% | 7 |
| 1970s | 32.3% | 30.0% | 35.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 42.9% | 37.9% | 46.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 54.4% | 47.6% | 61.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.0% | 61.5% | 67.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 66.9% | 66.9% | 66.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in South Korea?
- Share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in South Korea was 66.9% in 2010, according to Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 67.1% in 2007.
- What is the lowest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.4% in 1955.
- How does South Korea rank for share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita?
- South Korea ranks 18th out of 44 countries with data for 2010.
- Is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The vertical axis shows historical estimates of the employment share in the service sector. The horizontal axis shows GDP per capita, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.